Changes in Motor Performance and BMI of Primary School Children over Time–Influence of the COVID-19 Confinement and Social Burden

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, physical inactivity and being overweight increased in children, especially those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Additionally, a decrease in motor performance has been increasingly reported; however, there is a lack of meaningful data on the relationship between these findings and socioeconomic status. Therefore, we examined the BMI, BMI z score, the prevalence of overweight/obesity, and motor performance (based on lateral jumping, the standing long jump, and the 6-min run) among three cohorts from timelines before (2016) and during the pandemic (2020, 2021), using a cohort sequential design. Our analysis revealed that all parameters examined showed a significant negative trend over time. For children with a low social burden, the trend was statistically detectable only for lateral jumping and the 6-min run. For children with a high social burden, the prevalence of overweight/obesity increased from 4.2% to 5.4% between 2016 and 2021. The prevalence of being underweight also increased from 3.4% to 4.3% during this time. Motor performance decreased from 11.3% to 12.3%, except in the standing long jump. Children with a high social burden showed significantly lower results (7.4% to 9.6%). Thus, our data confirm an increase in both measurements of overweight/obesity and underweight, as well as a decrease in motor performance under the pandemic conditions, especially in children from socioeconomically deprived backgrounds. These findings affirm the urgent need for action regarding health promotion measures, especially for children with high social burdens.

Changes in Physical Fitness during the COVID-19 Pandemic in German Children

“…Performance levels increased significantly in the COVID1 cohort, but then remained stable again compared to the PreCOVID cohort, and showed no evidence of negative effects. Basterfield et al [ 25 ] and Wessely et al [ 32 ] also reported a performance increase for standing long jump. This suggests that strength is more resilient to negative effects of COVID-19 than other dimensions of physical fitness [ 25 ].…”

“…Schmidt et al [ 22 ] found an increase from 75 min per day before the COVID-19 pandemic to 105 min per day playing outside during lockdown in spring 2020 for 6-to-10-year-old children in Germany. Most notably, socioeconomic background and place of residence are influencing determinants of levels of physical activity and physical fitness [ 19 , 20 , 32 , 35 ]. We also analyzed physical activity changes in our sample and can confirm these findings.…”

“…Wessely et al [ 32 ] reported decreasing results for measurements of physical fitness during the COVID-19 pandemic, whereby children with a high social burden showed lower performance levels. Children with low socioeconomic status also showed lower levels of physical activity, but the home and living environment had a particular influence [ 19 , 20 ].…”

“…The programs should be anchored sustainably in the community and target people’s behavior and the conditions. Because not every child had the same opportunities to be physically active [ 18 , 32 ], especially in times when restrictions and limitations influence regular and structured physical activity, policy makers, communities, and other relevant stakeholders must provide children with access to environments that are conducive to and supportive of physical activity. Parents should operate as role models for an active lifestyle.…”

The Covid Pandemic Affected the Physical Fitness of Primary School Children

“…It is likely that the limited opportunities to perform structured exercise in physical education classes or sports clubs due to social-distancing measures negatively affected children's physical fitness. Several studies report declines in children's cardiorespiratory endurance and changes in their muscular fitness [34][35][36][37][38][39][40], although results regarding muscle power are inconsistent. Chambonnière et al [34] tested the cardiorespiratory endurance, as well as the lower and upper limbs muscle power of 206 French third-and fourth-graders either before (February of 2020) or during (January of 2021) the Covid pandemic.…”